DISASTER

08.07.14

ISIS Takes Iraq’s Largest Christian Town

Reuters

Militants from the so-called Islamic State have taken over the largest Christian town in Iraq, Qaraqosh, and sent tens of thousands fleeing as a result. The militants took it overnight after Kurdish troops withdrew because they are stretched too thin. Qaraqosh, which is nearly all Christian and has a population of 50,000, is between Mosul and the Kurdish capital of Arbil. “It’s a catastrophe, a tragic situation. We call on the U.N. Security Council to immediately intervene. Tens of thousands of terrified people are being displaced as we speak, it cannot be described,” the archbishop of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah said. The news comes just days after reports of other minorities under attack from ISIS.